Electric terminal.



E. WEINTHAum ELECIRiC TERMINAL. APPLDCTGN FlLED-SEPT.18\ 19'4,

y153343558, merma Apr.6,1915.

Witnesses: Inventor:

Ezechiei Weintraub.

- entran STATES 'rafrnnr yorties.

. EZECHIEL YVEINTRAUB, DF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNQR TQ GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION Ol? NEW YORK.

, ployed.

ELECTRIC TERMINAL.

Specification cf Letters latent.

Application led September 1S, 19171. Serial No.486239.

To allai/710m it may concern.

Be it lmoi'vn that I', EziicHrEL Wnin'rnann, a citizen of theUnitedStates, residing vat Lynn, county of Essex, State or"Massachusetts, have invented certain neW and useful Improvements inElectric Terminals, of which the following is a specification.

This application'is a continuation in part of my application, Serial No;795,559, filed October 16, 1913.

The present invention relates to resist aiices consisting either partlyOrWliolIy ot elemental. silicon, and comprises particularly anelectrical current connection or terf i minal therefor.

Silicon cannot be efficiently joined to current-conductors by the `meansusually em'- One vdifliculty appears to be the formation at highertemperatures of a very thin superficial iilin oi2 oxid which increasesthe resistance at the terminal and makes the starting of currentpassagediiiicult; another Ydiiliculty is `caused by the appearance athigher temperatures of thermoelectromotive forces oi, large magnitudewhich cause local heating at the terminal and a rapid deterioration ofthe current connection. The diilieulties are the more severe the higherthe temperature at which operates.

ln accordance with my invention l have provided a terminal which isunited with the silicon surface intimately so as to entirely exclude theair and thus prevent the.

formation of the oXid film and which gives rise to only a smallthermoelectroinotive force and consequently inappreciable local heating.This terminal consists of an alloy of silicon and a metal, such as analloy of silicon and aluminum.

. lin the. accompanying drawings, Figurel shcivsin elevation a siliconheater provided with terminals, 'and Figilis a sectional view of the endof the' silicon resistor and a ter,- minal. f

The particular resistor illustrated, as shown in section in Fig. 2,comprises a core 1 consisting ot' graphite, or other like highlyrefractory conductor with a rising volt ampere characteristic, and ashell or coating 2 oi. silicon, but my inventionot1 `course isapplicable to any form of resistor consisting entirely or in part ofsilicon. Silicon when cold a high residzance which rapidly decreaseswith a rise of temperature and the silicon heater`- hence a core of goodconducting material enables the silicon to be easily brought to a hightemperature at a' moderate voltage. Qn the other hand by properlyproportion# ing thex core and shell an increase in voltage drop withincrease in current may be secured thus enabliiigthe resistor to beoperated Without special regulating or current limit- Patented Apr. 6.E335.l

ing devices. This resistor is described and claimed in my co-pcndingapplication, Serial (No. 795,559, iiied October 16, 1913, of which thepresent application is a continuation inpart.

At the end of the resistor I provide a cap B'consisting of cast iron,steel orother re tract-ery metal or alloy which can run at low red heatWithout excessive deteriorationdue to oxidation. If desired an asbestoswasher el' may oe placed between the cup 3 and the resistor to make amechanical fit.` Into ,thisspace between the cup 3 and the resistorl iscast the refractory alloy of silicon and a metal, preferably aluminum.This alloy is made by adding aluminum to molten silicon until ahomogeneous mixture is made. A similar alloy of copperor even iron maybe used but these alloys have the disadvantage of slowly disintegratinginto the form of a powder. Any suitable mechanical current connectionmay be made totlie vmetal shellA 3. Due'to the factthat the` filling 'iscast into Contact With the silicon, it conforms 'zoV or even higher,Without appreciable change or' resistance at the terminals, Without deleterious locallieating at the contact and consequent breaking apart. l yo li/Vliat I claim as new` and desi-re to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States,`is: l'. ,An electrical conductor consisting at leastin part of elemental silicon and a cur` rent-conveying terminal thereforcomprising a' metal cap spaced apart from said con- 'ductor and a massof a refractory alloy o silicon and a metal adhering tol said silicon yconductor.

2. n electrical conductor consisting at least in part ci' elementalsilicon and means, :for'conducting current thereto comprising aconductive material containing aluminum and silicon as constituents.

3.'An electrical conductor comprising elesisting of a refractorymaterialcontaining 10 mental silicon, 'a metal cap spaced apart siliconand aluminum -as constituents. f from said resistorand a filling of castcon-l In witness whereof, I have hereunto set vducting material thereinconforming closely my hand this sixteenth day of September ai with thesurface configurationf the silicon 1914.

t@ protect it framl Oxidation. A EZEGHIEL 'vi/Eiferrruiu-.

4. A12. electrical conductor comprising ele- Witnesses: r mentalsilicon, e metal cap spaced apart Y JOHN A. MCMANUS, Jr.,

ead resistor. and, a filling therein con- FRANK G. HA'rTIE.

